LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 15: Actor Jack Nicholson talks to referee Ken Mauer in Game Six of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on June 15, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

NBA referee Kenneth Mauer Jr. was a Minnesota resident when he failed to file state taxes here in 2003 and 2004, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled.

Mauer, a St. Paul native, argued that he moved to Fort Myers, Fla., in 2003 and was not required to file taxes as a full-time Minnesota resident.

He claimed he had a longstanding dislike of winter weather, and moving to Florida “became a clear choice when the Minnesota Twins drafted his cousin,” Joe Mauer, the ruling, made public Wednesday, April 17, said. It recounted Ken Mauer’s argument that the Twins hold spring training in Fort Myers and Joe Mauer had bought a home in the same Fort Myers development where Ken Mauer later bought a townhome.

But a majority of the court concluded that “Mauer’s assertion about his distaste for Minnesota and its cold weather is undermined by the fact that, during the disputed time frame, (Ken) Mauer continued to spend significant time in Minnesota, including time he spent in Minnesota during some of the coldest months of the year.”

He kept his 10,600-square-foot Afton home, spent “significantly more time” in Minnesota than Florida, kept and insured several motor vehicles here, and maintained employment here by refereeing high school football games, the ruling said.

After he failed to file 2003 taxes, Mauer became the subject of an inquiry by the state Department of Revenue. He then filed a return as a part-time Minnesota resident.

Mauer was audited. The department determined he was a full-time Minnesotan. Mauer appealed and lost. He then appealed to the Tax Court and lost again. The Supreme Court took the case from there.

In 2000, Mauer became one of 22 NBA referees indicted in “Operation Slam Dunk,” an Internal Revenue Service investigation into whether referees were evading federal taxes through use of airline ticket refunds.

Mauer was indicted on one count of endeavoring to obstruct and impede due administration of tax laws and four counts of tax evasion. A federal jury in Minnesota found him guilty on four of the five counts.

He spent five months in prison and five months on home confinement, which ended June 30, 2003. On July 1, 2003, Mauer was on a flight from Minnesota to Fort Myers. Two days after that, he bought a Fort Myers townhome.

The speed of Mauer’s departure from the state was cited by Justice G. Barry Anderson in his dissent in the case.

Anderson also noted that Mauer was “engaged in a long-running, and noisy, argument with his employer about his decision to live in Florida. In fact, the issue escalated to threats from the NBA to fine Mauer, suspend Mauer, or even terminate Mauer’s employment,” yet Mauer continued to insist that he lived in Florida.

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